WASHINGTON — The President is poised to enact an executive decree this week aiming to extend the timeline for the divestiture of TikTok, a prominent video-sharing application owned by a Chinese company, as divulged by the White House on Tuesday. Previously, an initiative was undertaken by the President in early April to grant TikTok a 75-day extension while discussions regarding its prospective sale to American stakeholders languished.
During this period, the White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, articulated via an official statement that, consistent with the President’s frequent assurances, there is no intent for TikTok to be rendered inaccessible. The pending extension spans 90 days, a timeframe within which the administration intends to expedite efforts to finalize an acquisition deal. This aims to ensure users that their information remains adequately safeguarded.
While speaking to the media aboard Air Force One, returning from the G7 summit in Canada, the President indicated that there is a possibility of another deadline extension. He expressed confidence that a divestment agreement involving TikTok’s operations in America would eventually receive concurrence from China’s President Xi Jinping.
This marks the third occasion where an extension has been granted by the President. The first occurred on January 20, the inauguration day, reinstating TikTok services after a congressional ban, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court, briefly caused the platform to go offline. A subsequent extension was sanctioned in April, during optimism towards finalizing a spin-off agreement that ceded TikTok’s ownership to the U.S. This prospect disintegrated following China’s retraction linked to recent tariff disputes.
There remains uncertainty surrounding the number of times such extensions might be sanctioned as negotiations concerning TikTok, under the ownership of the Chinese entity ByteDance, remain ongoing. Garnering over 15 million followers on the platform, the President recognizes TikTok’s critical role in engaging younger constituents. In January, he conveyed an unexpectedly favorable sentiment towards TikTok.